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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. swing — to play on
  5. bore — to drill
  6. bore — to tire
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. face — part of the head
  9. face — to point toward
  10. lean — to bend
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. lean — thin
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. plane — a tool
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. swing — music
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. swing — in golf
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. date — the fruit

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com